Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-08-11

How q Charming Southern Girl Came TO
Marry Federal AdJutant.

tie town of -, in Mississippi. they
took Judge Strong's house for the
headquarters. The old judge was
mad. He decided at once to go into
exile. He borrowed his own carriage
and horses to convey him and his fam
lily to the river bank, where they would
take skiffs.
It looked a trif1e like funeral pro-
| cession as the women, yelled and weep
ing. filed solemnly down the steps and
took their places in the waiting car
riage. The Judge followed them in
unsmiling dignity. They were going
into exile. Their borrowed driver
slammed the carriage door upon them
and mounted to the box with solemn
.'Git up" to his horses. Some one
halted him from the interior of the
house. The hurried step of a spurred
boot along the big central hall. and
then, standing there with barred head
before them. was the young officer
upon whose unwilling hands the odium
of this ejectment had been thrust.
With a Quick military salute to the
yelled women, he turned his troubled
eyes upon the Judge, sitting sternly
erect upon the front seat. He held in
one hand bird cage, in the other
basket of blooming hyacinths torn up
by the roots. He knew they all hated
him, and it was hard to say what he
wanted just then to say to them. The
hot blood mounted high up to the
white temples that were in such sharp
contrast to his sun-burned cheeks. He
stammered out his errand presently
awkwardly enough. 81 brought these
thinking the ladies might want to set
them out somewhere else," Indicating
the hyacinths "and this''-the bird
cage-"supposing it had been forgot
ten"
Present them to the General in
command with my respects said the
judges wife in her most patriotic tones.
land tell him, if there is any thing
more we can surrender for his comfort,
we hope he will not be too modest to
indicate it."
''Oh, mamma, that is cruel" A
girls veil was thrown back and a pair
of little hands were held out for the
hyacinths. at was good of you to
think of this. The bird would be in
our way. It's mine. l give it to you.
These 1 will take, thank you" Then
they were gone, and he had nothing
but memory left, and very incon-
venient piece of army baggage on
hand. But never was bird OF beast
better cared for than the useless little
yellow warbler.
At the end of the war the family re-
turned. The condition in which they
found the premises was a matter of
more amazement to the Strongs than it
had been to their neighbors. There
was not one sign left of the enemy's oc-
cupation but the grassy welts on the
lawn and the free sweep of exposure to
the public road, which at first was
sore trial to the nerves of the whole
family, The Judge made it his bust
ness at once to begin sitting the mys-
terry of this unfathered beneficence to
him and his. A little bird gave him
the right clew. They had been settled
in the old house but few days when
thrifty rose-bush, and a glittering gilt
Chinese pagoda of birds cage, con-
tanning a useless little yellow warbler,
were added to their effects. These
were dumped abruptly down upon the
portico with no message of any sort.
A tag was fastened to each rose-bush,
on which was written: Survival of the
fttest." The bird gave them the clew.
why did you do all this for mep"
the judge asked. sitting face to face
with the new lawyer, whom he had
unearthed as his benefactor.
81 don't know that 1 did do it for
you," the ex-adjutant said. his eyes
wandering from force of habit to where
the birds cage had swung and the
rose trees had doomed behind the
little Office
For whom, thenp''
"For your daughter-the one that
lifted her veil and remembered to be
kind and just to her enemy, even in
the sharp hours of her own misery.
God does not make such woman as
that every day, and some of these
days. when the soreness has worn itself
out of her heart and yours, I mean to
ask her to be my wife. Not yet.
though. 1 bide my time
1t is safe to conclude that the sore
ness was worn out of everybody's
heart before the day when that stroll
ing photographer sprung his camera
on the old Strong house, when the
family were all grouped on the stuc-
coed steps, for among the bury forms
on the steps is the ex-adjutant's. He
is sitting quite close to the Judges
youngest daughter. and if you look at
the picture through a magnifying glass,
you can see that her fingers are clasped
in his. though the petals of handful
of sunset roses almost hide them
N. 7. Evening Post